Peter John Kirkpatrick is an Honorary Associate Professor in the Discipline of English and Writing within the School of Art, Communication and English, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Sydney. His academic career includes teaching Australian literature at the University of Sydney and previously at Western Sydney University. Kirkpatrick's research focuses on Australian literature and cultural history, with particular interests in poetry and popular culture, poetry and poetics, modernity and modernism, and creative writing. He is currently developing a book-length study titled 'Weird Melancholy', examining key gothic themes and tropes in Australian literature and cinema from early colonial times to the present.

Kirkpatrick has made significant contributions to the field through his authorship and editorial work. Notable publications include The Sea Coast of Bohemia: Literary Life in Sydney's Bohemian Quarter (University of Queensland Press, 1992), which explores the vibrant literary scene in 1930s and 1940s Sydney; Literary Sydney: A Walking Guide (UWA Publishing, 2014), offering an insightful guide to Sydney's literary landmarks; and Republics of Letters: Literary Communities in Australia (Sydney University Press, 2017), co-edited with Robert Dixon, which investigates the role of literary communities and sociability in shaping Australian culture. His poetry collections encompass Water Music (1983), Westering (2008)—shortlisted for the New South Wales Premier's Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry—and The Wild Reciter. Kirkpatrick has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature (JASAL), addressing topics like popular poetry, Australian humour, and urban literary narratives. Additionally, he co-edited Serious Frolic: Essays on Australian Humour (2009) with Frances De Groen. His work has influenced understandings of Australian modernism, settler-colonial poetry, and the intersections of literature with place and popular culture.

Professional Email: peter.kirkpatrick@sydney.edu.au